Bandage selvaging machine



May 16, 1933.

0. LE C. VALENTINE BANDAGE S ELVAG ING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 31, 1928 r avwencoz y 6, 1933. 0. LE VALENTINE 1,909,027

BANDAGE SELVAGING MACHINE Filed May 31, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 UNITED STATES PATENT O FFICE OCTAVE LE CLAIR VALENTINE, F BRIDGEPORT, CONNEGTIG'U T, ASSIGNOR, BY IESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE BAY COMPANY,

RATION OF DELAWARE or rnrnearoma, commc'ncu'r, A coaro- BANDAGE SELVAGING MACHINE Application filed Kay 81,

This invention relates generally to a bandage selvaging machine, and more particularto a device adapted to be attached to the ordinary bandage slitting machine and to operate in conjunction therewith to produce nonraveling selvages along the edges of each bandage turned out by the machine. A well recognized objectionable feature of surgical bandages has been their tendency to ravel and fray at the edges. To obviate this difiiculty, by' providing bandages with woven selvages, is impractical, and to apply an adhesive substance to the edges produces a bandage which is not only obnoxious to apply but is decidedly unsanitary.

Accordingly, the princlpal object of this invention is to provide a machine for forming non-raveling selvages in fibrous material, particularly along the edges of bandage strips severed from wide sheets orrolls of surgical gauze; and to provide a machine of this character, which is simple in construction, eflicient in operation, inexpensive to employ, and preferably capable of quick and easy adjustment to operate effectively on strips of different widths.

-A further object of this invention is to provide a machine of the character described, and one which may be organized as an attachment adapted to be asociated with a slitting machine, without requiring any alteration or modification of the slitting machine other than the hooking up of the sclvaging attachment thereto.

Other objects of this invention will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter. Y

The selvaging machine with which this application is concerned acts on the edges of the gauze strips to destroy the tensile strength of the threads and to' g-jcreatea pulpified or friable condition in the material, at the same time uniting the .material at inter sections so intimately as to defy separation. Since intersections remain fast the threads inwardly thereof cannot pass. by orravel or fray from the strip. The force applied by the machine to effect the selvage condition referred to is believed to be in the nature of a crushing, mashing and grinding action,

1928. Serial N0. 281,985.

and is preferably applied by causing the edges of the strips to pass between two hardsurfaced rollers pressing together withresilient pressure.

' chine, and is taken on line 22 of Fig. 1;

.Fig. 3 is a diagrammatical illustration of the roll driving means of. the bandage slitting machine;

Fig. tis a detail view of the manual adjusting means for the selvaging rollers;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of one of the pressing rollers;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the com pleted bandage, showing the non-raveling selvages along the edges of the. bandage an Fig. 7 is a detailed vertical cross-sectional view of the supportin bar and guides therefor, taken on line 7 of Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, fragmental parts of a bandage slitting machine are illustratedfor the purpose of showing how my selvage forming machine may be attached to the ordinary bandage slitting machine and how the pressing rollers of my selvaging machine cooperate more particularly with the backing or platen roll of the slitting machine to'produce my bandages having non-raveling, unwoven selvages.

The supporting framework of the bandage slittingmachine, shown frag'mentally at 1, supports a second framework 2, whichcarries the operative elements. Suitable brackets 3, secured at each end of the framework 2, carry the platen roll. and various guide rolls of the bandage slitting machine. The platen roll 4 is fixed to shaft 5 journaled in the brackets 3, and may be either made entirely of a hard metal, or surfaced with a hard material. Guide roll 6, fixed to shaft 7 journaled in the brackets 3, guides the bandage material 8 around the platen roll 4. The slitting rollers which cut the bandage material into suitable bandage widths and the pressing rollers, forming my unraveling selvage, operate upon the bandage material as it passes around the platen roll, in a manner to be henceforth described. The completed bandages 10, cut tosuitable Widths and selvaged, are then wound upon the bandage core 9, as clearlyshown in Fig. 2. Suitable means are provided to cause the completed bandages to wind themselves smoothly and neatly on the bandage core 9. Thus a weight roll 11 may be provided, journaled in blocks 12 and 13 resting on the bandages being wound on the bandage core. The weight roll 1]. is vertically movable, blocks 12 and 13 fitting within guide members 14 and 15 and vertically slidable therein. Bandage core 9 i may also be positioned for vertical sliding movement in guide members 14 and 15, permitting the rolled bandages to rest on platen roll 4 and guide'roll 16 while in tln process of being wound. The means above described for obtaining a smoothly wound bandage is merely for purposes of illustration, and other means may be used for winding bandages on a core, Within the contemplation of this invention.

The bandage slitting machine carries some slitting means, preferably slittmg rollers 17, which cut the bandage material into strips as it passes around the platen roll 4. The slitting rollers 17 may be adjustably supported on arms 18fulcrumed on a suitable support 19..

The sclvaging mechanism comprises a plurality of sclvaging rollers 20, for which roll 4 serves as a backing or platen. For each slitting roller carried by the machine, there is a corresponding sclvaging rollerpositioned in alignment therewith. The sclvaging roller, shown in Fig. 5in enlarged scale, has a comparatively thin periphery 21, preferably slightly crowned, the sides 22 of the roller being tapered.

Each sclvaging roller maybe journaled on a pin 23 or each roller may be fixed to the pin and the pin ournaled in slots 24 formed. 4 on the end of fork elements '25 and 26, as

port 52 of the machine.

suitable adjusting means is provided for ad-.

justing the trussing effect exerted by rod 32 on the supporting bar and for straightening out the supporting bar should it become warped. To this end, I provide a bolt 34 extending through the midsection of the rod, resting against the supporting bar, and cooperating with nuts 35 and 36, one on each side of the bar. As the bolt is turned to the right or left, a cm'respdiiding bending moment is exerted on the supporting bar to truss and adjust the bar as desired.

The supporting bar rests upon a shaft having body portion 37 which is eccentric with respect to its ends 38 and 39 which are journaled in suitable brackets, such as 40, secured as by bolts 41 to the framework 2 of the slitting machine. Shaft body 37 extends the length of the supporting bar. It

will now be seen that, as'the shaft 37 is 9 movement between blocks at each end thereof. End portions 43 and 44 of the bar are provided with a vertical groove 45 along the forward face thereof. Each'forward block 46 and 47 is provided with a cooperating lug 48 fitting within the groove, preventing longitudinal movement of the bar. Block 46 is secured in position by means of bolts 49 to support 50 of the machine, and block 47 is also secured by bolts 51 to sup- Rear blocks 53 and 54 fit smoothly against the back side of the bar, and are secured in a suitable man nor to the parts 50 and 52 of the framework of the slitting machine. Thus it is seenthat the supporting bar is guided for vertical movement, with means provided to raise and lower the same to move the sclvaging rollers toward and awayfrom the platen roll.

To rotate the eccentric shaft 37, a hand crank 55 may be attached to its end 38, which extends beyond the block 40 in which it is journaled. To retain the supporting bar in the desired raised position, a pawl and ratchet arrangement is provided. Pawl 56 is fixed to rod 57 journaled in a suitable manner to the framework of the machine. The dog end 58 of the pawl en- -ber at any point along the slot.

y the pivot points.

gages with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 59 fixed to shaft end 38, and holds the supporting bar in the vertical position to which it is raised by the hand crank. A reinforcing tie rod 60 and stiffener 61 may be'used to connect the brackets 40 at each end of the machine to give rigidity and strength to the whole.

Means are provided to hold the salvaging rollers against the platen roll with resilient pressure. An angle bar 62 extending the length of the machine is secured to posts 63, one at each end thereof. The lower end of each post is journaled to a pin 64 carried by a bracket 65 attached to the lower framework 1 of the slitting machine. Link members 66, journaled at one endto the rod 57, have an elongated slot 67 at the other end thereof. A key bolt 68 passes through each slot and screws intov a post member 63, permitting the end of each post to be fixed to the corresponding link mem- B this arrangement it is seen that the ang e bar 62 can be swung in an arc outwardly and downwardly, or vice versa, with pins 64 as The primary purpose of having the bar 62 movable toward and from the rolls is to permit the levers 27 to be inserted, removed or ad'usted readily and easily. Primarily an ad ustment of the resilient pressure of the rollers 20 against the cylinder 4 is obtained by rotating theeccentric shaft 37.

Suitable leaf springs 69 are attached to the end of each arm member 27, to hold the selvaging rollers resiliently against the platen roll. The leaf springs may be attached to their respective arm members by means of a block 70 secured to one end of. the

formed in the end of the'arm member, and

the block securely held within the slot bysa suitable screw 72 penetrating the arm and block. Each leaf spring is of such length as to extend well under the horizontal leg 73 of the angle bar. A block 74 may also be secured-to this end of each leaf spring, an adj usting screw 75 penetrating each block and contacting the lower side of the horizontal flange 73 of the angle bar and under which the ends of the springs are confined. Now it isseen that, by unloosening key bolts 68, the angle bar 62 can be swung outwardly so as to uncover the ends of the springs, thus permitting the rollers 20 to be of various widths. Arms. 27 carrying the selvaging rollers 20 may be positioned at any desired oint along the bar by unloosem ing a screw 6 carried by each saddlememher 28 and sliding the saddle member to the point desired. A longitudinal roove 77 may be formed in the supporting ar to receive the end of the screws 76. Correspondin adjustments may also be made of .the slitting rollers 17. Thus non-raveling which-is in turngeared to the ironing roll 4.

Suitable belting 79 extends around pulle wheel 78, pulley wheel 80 fixed to the Shit t 81 of guide roll 16, and pulley wheel 82. The direction of rotation of the various rolls is illustrated by arrows in Figs. 2 and 3.

The slitting rollers 17 press against the bandage gauze material 8 as it moves around the backing or platen roll 4, and severs the bandage material into strips. The selvaging rollers 20 crush and mash the strips at their edges against the backing or platen roll and render these edges non-raveling. The selvaging rollers and the slitting rollers are in tandem relation. It is understood, however, that the pressing operation may be performed before or after the slitting operation, as desired. In the illustrative embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the pressing rollers are arranged to follow the slitting rollers, selvaging the edges of the bandage strips after they have been out. In any event, the selvaging rollers are so arranged that each forms the adjacent selvaged edges of two adjacent strips.

It is necessary that the surface of the platen roll be hard and firm to form the proper backing for the selvalging rollers. In order to produce an unrave 1n selvage, the warp and weft threads must e more than -pressed together into merely cohering contact, which would be insufiicient to prevent separation of the intersections, since any such separation would permit interior threads to pass by and out of the edge of the strip, constituting ravel and fray. The individual threads must be so mashed and crushed that there can be no separation at the intersections, thus positively preventing interior threads from passingout of the edge of the strip to create ravel and fray. The treatment should destroy the tensile strength of the material and create a pulpified condition. The material intermediate the intersections should retain sufiicient strength to cause the selvage edge to remain on the strip in ordinary service; The pressure should be firm anduniform, and of.

such nature as to create the conditions specified, and the machine should be adjusted accordingly.

By rotating eccentric cylinder 37 by means of hand crank 55, the supporting bar 29 may be gradually raised, raising all the arms 27 in unison, and pressing the rollers carried thereby more heavily against the fabric. The supporting bar can be raised by this means until such a pressing effect is exerted on the fabric as to produce my nonraveling selvage. Pawl 56 engages ratchet wheel 59 and holds the eccentric cylinder in the position to which it has been rotated, and holds the supporting bar in the corresponding raised position which produces the desired selvaging effect. Leaf springs 69 maintain the pressure of the rollers against the fabric uniform, regardless of any irregularity in the surface of the platen roll or in the fabric itself. The pressure of the individual roller against the platen roll can be fixed by the adjusting screw 7 5, thus providing for any difference in resiliency of the leaf springs and insuring the effective operation of each and every roller.

' To release the pressure effect of the rollers against the fabric, it is simply necessary to lift the pawl 56 and lower the supporting bar 29 by turning crank arm 55.

It is seen that with my selvaging attachment bandages having non-raveling selvages can be produced without additional labor or material, the only additional expense of manufacture being the upkeep, wear and tear of the selvaging attachment, which is practically negligible in computing bandage costs. My superior bandages can, therefore, be produced at practically the same cost as that at which inferior unselvaged bandages can be produced.

While I have shown my selvaging machine associated with the ordinary bandage slitting machine, it is understood that my selvaging device and a suitable backing -member associated therewith may be built as a separate and distinct machine apart from the slitting machine, the bandage material passing through each machine separately, within the contemplation of this invention. And, as many changes could be made in the above construction and as many apparently widely different embodiments of this'invention, consisting of progressing bandage material between selvaging surfaces to produce unraveling selvages, could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim is 1. In a machine for making surgical bandages, the combination of means for feeding a web of fabric material through the machine, and juxtaposed cutting and crushing devices for cutting the material and crushing the cut edges to prevent raveling.

2. In a machine for making surgical bandages, the combination of a platen roller, means for feeding a web of fabric material over said roller, and juxtaposed cutting and crushing devices operating against the platen roller for cutting the material and crushing the cut edges to prevent raveling.

3. In a machine for making surgical bandages, the combination of means for feeding a web of fabric material through the machine, and a tool, including cutting and crushing devices, for crushing the cut edges to. prevent raveling,

4. In a machine for making surgical bandages, the combination of a platen roller, means for feeding a web of fabric material over said roller, and a tool, including cutting and crushing devices operating against the platen roller, for cutting and crushing the cut edges to prevent raveling.

5. In a machine for making surgical bandages, the combination of means for feeding a web of fabric material through the machine, a cutter and a crusher supported in tandem position on the machine to cut the material and crush the cut edges thereof to prevent raveling.

6. In a machine for making surgical bandages, the combination of means for feeding a web of fabric material through the machine, a rotary cutter and a rotary crusher supported in tandem position on the machine to cut the material and crush the cut edges to prevent raveling.

7. In a machine for making surgical bandages, a platen roller, means for feeding a web of material over said roller, and

a rotary cutter having a dull peripheral cutting edge and a rotary crusher having a dull peripheral crushing edge arranged in tandem position to operate on the web as it passes over the platen to cut the web and crush the cut edges to prevent raveling.

8. In a machine for making surgical bandages, the combination of a backing member, means for feeding a web of bandage material to the backing member, means, including a selvaging roller resiliently crushing the material against the backing member, for producing a crushed selvage strip in the bandage material, said crushed strip forming an edge of .two finished bandages, and means for moving said rollers to and from saidmember.

9. In a machine for making surgical bandages, the combination of a backing member, means for feeding a web of bandage material to the backing member, means, including selvaging rollers resiliently crushing the material against the backing member, for producing crushed selvage strips in the bandage material, each crushed strip forming an edge of two finished bandages,

pass, means, including selvaging rollers resiliently crushing the material against the platen ro1l,'for producing crushed selvage strips in the material, each crushed strip forming an edge oftwo finished bandages, means for adjusting the crushing force ex erted by the rollers on the material and means for moving said-rollers into and out of contact with the platen roll.

11. The combination with a backing member over which material to be .selvaged is adapted to pass, of means for producing crushed'selvage strips in said material, said means including a supporting bar, arms carried by said supporting bar, selvaging rollers carried by said arms, and means for resiliently retaining said rollers with crushing force against the material on said backing member.

12. The combination with a backing member over which material to be selva ed is adapted topass, of means for pro ucing crushed selvage strips in said material, said means including a supporting bar, arms transversely disposed across said supporting bar and adjustable longitudinally thereon to vary the spacing of the crushed selvage strips, a selvaging roller carried at one end of each of said arms, and means at the other end of said arms for resiliently retaining said rollers with crushing force against the material on said backing member.

13. The combination with a backing surface over which material to be selvaged is adapted to pass, of means for producing crushed selva e strips in said material, said means inclmfing a supporting bar, arms transversely disposed across said supporting bar, a selvaging roller carried at one end of each of said arms, resilient means at the other end of saidarms for resiliently retaining said rollers with crushing force against the material on said surface, and means associated with said resilient means for adjusting the resilient force applied to said rollers. a

14. The combination with a backing surface over which material to be selvaged is ada ted to pass, of means for producin crus ed selvage strips in said material, sai means including a supporting bar, arms transversely disposed across said supporting bar, selvaging rollers carried, by said arms, means for resiliently retaining said rollers with crushing force against the material on said surface, and means for adjustingsaid bar to move said rollers into and out of crushing contact with said material.-.

15. The combination with a. backing surface over which material to be selvagedis adapted to pass, of means for producing crushed selvage strips in said material, said means including a supporting bar, arms transversely disposed: across said bar, selvaging rollers carried by said arms, means for resiliently retaining said rollers with crushing force against the material on said surface, and manual means for manipulating said bar to move said rollers into and out of crushing contact with said material and means for locking said bar against movement.

16. The combination with a backing surface over which material to be selvaged is adapted to pass, of means for producin crushed selvage strips in said material, sai means including a supporting bar, arms transversely disposed across said bar, selvaging rollers carried by said arms, means for resiliently retaining said rollers with crushing force against the material on said surface, and manual means for manipulating said bar to move said rollers to andfrom said backing surface and to obtain the desired crushing force of said rollers on said material, and means for locking said bar in the desired position.

17. The method ofmaking bandages from a roll of surgical gauze, which consists in feeding a web of gauze from the roll over a platen-roller and cutting the web into bandage strips while it is passing over said roller and immediately crushing the edges of the strip before they pass from said roller to prevent raveling at the edges of the bandages.

This specification signed this 28th day of May 1928. I

.OCTAVE LE CLAIR VALENTINE. 

